[New] Importance of Focused Medical Training

Many executive protection teams are trained in some sort of Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) or Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC), while this training is no doubt important, teams shouldn’t lose focus on the problem that routine medical emergencies may pose.

It is much more likely that the principal you protect will suffer some sort of medical emergency before you need to use a tourniquet on an arterial bleed from a gunshot wound. Is your team prepared to provide care for a medical emergency until further help can arrive?

In a perfect world, teams would be trained to handle any sort of medical or trauma emergency that may present itself. However, it may be easier to focus your training on the most likely situations that could present. The question now becomes how do you determine where to focus your medical training.

Teams should maintain and update frequently on TECC and TCCC training. While this may not be the most commonly needed training, any armed security teams should be proficient in trauma care. On top of this training, teams should be familiar with the principal’s medical history along with family medical history. Knowing this information can allow the executive protection team to focus in on likely medical events. If the principal has a history of diabetes, the EP team should be intimately familiar with the signs and symptoms of hyper/ hypoglycemic episodes. If you are protecting an older principal, then it may be beneficial to know about conditions that affect the older population. This all comes with preparing and receiving the training for these situations.

Steps to Take to Prepare for Medical Emergencies

Step 1: Compile a Comprehensive Medical History

Just as you compile a comprehensive list of work habits, lifestyle, etc. You must do this on the medical side as well. Knowing what types of medical conditions, the principal and family have, allows you to adjust your approach and knowledge in these areas. You need to not only understand the basics of the diseases but also how they affect the principal. Like what was talked about earlier regarding diabetes, it is important to know how the principal may present if they are experiencing a hypoglycemic episode. Seeing these warning signs may allow you to intervene before the situation becomes worse. If you are able to get the principal something to eat or drink before the low blood sugar causes mental status changes, it is then a lot easier to maintain your focus to the task at hand which is protection. If the principal goes unconscious because their blood sugar got too low, now you have to deal with security issues that come from that unwanted attention.

Step 2: Compile a Comprehensive Medication List

Knowing the types of medications that the principal or family is currently prescribed is just as important as knowing their medical history. This is especially true regarding the older principal. When dealing with the older population, medications are not metabolized as fast as a younger adult. The potential for an overdose on medications becomes a much greater risk. Knowing the warning signs of a potential